by: Michael Zabrodsky (Hot Trax column), page 9T

The first leg of their tour is over, and the 10,000 Maniacs have been reaping the benefits of their newest release Our Time in Eden, on Elektra records.

In such a short time since the record was released, the band has been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, MTV's New Year's Eve Ball, and MTV's Inaugural Ball to welcome Bill Clinton to the presidency.

According to bassist Steve Gustafson, "Like any TV programs that have musical guests, they want to have bands when they are happening. Our office worked very hard, our record company worked very hard at getting that stuff to happen, and they deserve a lot of the thanks. I think the other thing is we made a great album. People are buying it, people want to hear it, and people want to see us."

The Inaugural Ball is a performance band members and fans will remember for years to come.

"I had a great time," Gustafson said. "It was one of our best shows."

"More people responded to this (inaugural) than anything we have ever done," said keyboardist Dennis Drew.

"There was a lot of energy in the whole town," Drew said of the Washington appearance. "It was exciting to see the president come out. It was a highlight to be in the same room with him. We got to hobnob with a few stars. It was fun," he said.

Although much of the country saw the Maniacs perform To Sir With Love, by Lulu, the band has recorded several other B sides for upcoming singles. "We have been doing To Sir With Love since September. We thought it would be cute to do an old song. Natalie (Merchant) sings it very well," the keyboardist noted.

To Sir with Love, has been recorded and will appear on a later single.

The band went to Trackmaster Studios in Buffalo last fall to record Don't Go Back To Rockville by R.E.M., Jolene by Dolly Parton, Everyday is Like Sunday by Morrissey and Sally Ann by The Horse Flies. All of the songs were produced by Gary Smith.

"We needed to put some stuff with that (the new single) Candy Everybody Wants, Drew said.

Of the band's latest tour, Drew said, "I think it's the best we've ever sounded. It's great having the extra musicians - the horn section, the piano player Amanda (Kramer). Mary Ramsey comes and plays viola and violin on several songs. It is very exciting."

And MTV has really taken to the band in recent months. "We have almost been around as long as they have. We've just known each other for a long time. Usually they base a lot of it on record sales. If your record's really hot they like to have you on MTV; if yours isn't hot, they really don t care if you're on MTV, and our record's hot," Drew, said.

"We've done them a few favors, (and) they really love the Candy Everybody Wants video," Gustafson added. "They are adding it to active rotation. It's a pre-Nazi Germany sort of a cabaret. All of the colors are earth tones. Natalie wears different outfits. It goes very well with the idea of Candy Everybody Wants - love, hate, blood, lust."

And if the attention from the major networks and MTV isn't enough, the Fox Network has also used the song These are Days, for the promotion of its new show Class of '96.

At the end of the first leg of the tour, the band recorded some shows in California. Drew said band members hope to some day release a live album. For this reason they will be recording more shows.